WaterSMART Environmental Water Resources Projects

The Bureau of Reclamation has re-opened and extended the deadline for the fiscal year 2023 WaterSMART Environmental Water Resources Projects funding opportunity. The new application deadline is Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at 4pm MDT. Applications were previously due on March 28, 2023.

The funding opportunity supports water conservation, water management, and restoration projects that result in significant benefit to the ecosystem and watershed health. Funding is available for up to $3 million per project. The applicant must complete the project within three years. Total project costs must be at most $6 million, and the projects must be part of a collaborative process to increase water resource reliability. Projects that are part of a collaborative process to increase water resource reliability will be prioritized.

If applicants demonstrate that the project increases water supply reliability for ecological values, was developed as part of a collaborative process, and/or the project benefits will advance an established strategy or plan to increase the reliability of water supply for consumptive and non-consumptive ecological values, they must be capable of providing up to a 25% non-federal cost share. If they do not meet these cost-sharing requirements, applicants must be capable of providing up to a 50% non-federal cost-share.

Eligible applicants are broken into three categories:

• Category A applicants are states, Tribes, irrigation districts and water districts; state, regional, or local authorities, the members of which include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority; and other organizations with water or power delivery authority. All applicants must be in one of the following states or territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.
• Category B applicants are non-profit conservation organizations, including watershed groups, acting in partnership and agreement with an entity described in Category A. Category B applicants must be in the United States or one of the territories identified above, and the Category A partner must be located in one of the states or territories described in Category A.
• Category C applicants are non-profit corporations applying for a project to improve the condition of a natural feature, such as wetlands on federal land, without a Category A partner. They must demonstrate that Category A entities do not object to the project. All Category C applicants must be in the United States or one of the territories identified in Category A.